Omaha Hits the Road for Series at South Dakota State

Friday, May 4

Brookings, S.D.

3 p.m.

Omaha

South Dakota State

Keil Krumwiede and the Omaha baseball team visit South Dakota State this weekend.

Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann

Omaha Hits the Road for Series at South Dakota State

May 3, 2018 | Baseball

Game Notes

Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team visits South Dakota State for a three-game weekend series, May 4-6, at Erv Huether Field in Brookings, S.D. First pitch on Friday is set for 3 p.m., followed by 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.

Quick Hits
• Cole Thibodeau hit a team-leading .533 last week with three runs scored, three RBI, two walks, three stolen bases, a .600 slugging percentage and a .632 on-base percentage.
• Adam Caniglia has been the Mavericks' mainstay behind the plate, catching 296 of 331.2 innings (89 percent) in his senior season.
• Omaha is 4-3 in game one of a Summit League series this year, 4-2 in game two and 1-4 in game three.
• The Mavericks have scored five or more runs in 14 games this season.
• Omaha has 34 extra-base hits, including nine homers, in 18 Summit League games, up from 29 extra-base hits with two homers in 21 non-conference games. Maverick hurlers tote a 4.28 ERA against league hitters, down from 5.46 in non-conference.
• Omaha's league-best 35 sacrifice bunts are 27th in the country.
• Grant Suponchick is the Mavericks' lone returning All-Summit selection, as he was a first-team pick as a DH in 2017.
• Omaha was picked fifth in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Omaha's four captains are Adam Caniglia, Payton Kinney, Cal Hehnke and Keil Krumwiede.
• Omaha is 221-287 all-time against all opponents on the schedule this year and 161-153 all-time against the five other teams in the Summit League. The Mavericks have compiled an 81-72 record in Summit League play since 2013.

Scouting the South Dakota State Jackrabbits
South Dakota State enters the weekend with a record of 12-24 (10-8 Summit League) after a three-game series at Fort Wayne last week. The Jacks won the opening game 8-6, dropped the second game 6-5 and rebounded with an 11-5 victory in the finale.

Head coach Rob Bishop is in his second season at SDSU, carrying a record of 38-48 and a career mark of 172-201-1 over eight seasons.

Friday marks the 152nd meeting all-time between Omaha and SDSU, and the Mavericks lead the series, 82-69. The two teams last met April 1 at Seymour Smith Park, where Omaha won 6-2.

Hehnke Collects Summit League Player of the Week Recognition
Cal Hehnke was named Summit League Pitcher of the Week his performances April 16-22. Hehnke collected his first career pitcher of the week award after totaling 8.0 innings pitched in relief across three games, allowing no runs and just two hits. The Grand Island, Neb., native had nine strikeouts to one walk.

Hehnke recorded three strikeouts with no hits in an inning of relief at Creighton (April 17). The following night, he earned his team-leading fourth save in Omaha's first win over Nebraska since 1997. April 21 at Fort Wayne, Hehnke had the league's longest relief outing of the week, tossing 6.0 innings with five strikeouts, no walks and two hits.

Macho, Macho Man
Joey Machado (4-5) redshirted in 2017 but has staked his claim on Omaha's Friday spot in the rotation this season. The Creighton Prep product is 4-2 with a 3.86 ERA against Summit League opponents, and his 4.06 ERA for the season ranks fourth in the conference.

After earning three straight league wins from March 16-30, Machado logged a quality start April 5 vs. North Dakota State. He threw a season-long 8.0 innings, allowing one run on two hits and a walk while striking out six. On April 13 at Western Illinois, he earned his most recent win after 6.0 innings on the bump.

Cool Like Koelewyn
Spencer Koelewyn (3-4) joined Omaha's starting rotation at the start of league play in mid-March and owns a 3.03 ERA this season, the lowest of any Maverick starter. Koelewyn picked up a win last Saturday at North Dakota State, allowing two runs over 5.0 innings.

Koelewyn was honored earlier this season as Summit League Pitcher of the Week on March 19. The Harrisburg, S.D., native recorded his first career win in Omaha's 7-0 shutout over Fort Wayne (March 17), throwing 6.0 innings with a season-high eight strikeouts and just two hits.

Out of the Pen: Cal Hehnke
Cal Hehnke leads the Mavericks and ranks second in the Summit League with five saves this season, and the junior has embraced his new relief role wholeheartedly. The Grand Island, Neb., native has allowed just one earned run since March 24 and has not allowed an extra-base hit since March 14.

Over his last nine appearances, Hehnke has a 0.35 ERA, compiling four saves in 26.0 innings pitched. Opponents have hit just .149 against him in that time.

Welcome to DeBombville
Thomas DeBonville joined the Omaha lineup on Feb. 24 and has started all 36 games since then, hitting .272 with five doubles, three triples, a team-best three home runs, a team-leading 29 runs scored and 19 RBI. He also leads the Summit League with 17 stolen bases on the year.

DeBonville was included on the Summit League's Players to Watch List released Feb. 8. The transfer was a two-time all-conference and all-region pick at Eastern Arizona College and ranked fifth nationally among junior college players for stolen bases (39) in 2017. He hit .419 with five doubles, six triples, two homers and a .597 slugging percentage.

2018 Slate Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2018 schedule includes 54 games, and the team plays in 11 states against schools from six other Division I conferences. Four opponents – Ohio, BYU, Oral Roberts and Nebraska – played in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

Entering the season, Omaha had never faced just one of its opponents -- Ohio. The Mavericks hold a combined all-time record of 221-287 over all teams on the regular-season slate.

Thibodeau On the Move to Third
After starting 43 games at second base as a freshman, sophomore Cole Thibodeau has made the move to third base in his sophomore campaign. In the opening weekend of play vs. Northwestern, Thibodeau hit .455 with three runs and a team-leading four RBI for the series. For the season, he has batted a team-leading .307 with 23 runs scored, 14 RBI, 19 walks and a league-best 10 sacrifice hits.

In 2017, Thibodeau ranked sixth nationally and led the Summit League with 14 sacrifice hits last season, helping Omaha as a team to 10th in the country and first in the conference for sac bunts (52). For the year, he batted .273 with 26 runs scored and had 11 multi-hit games.

Double Digits
Omaha produced double-digit hits in back-to-back games to open the season vs. Northwestern, with 18 in game one of the doubleheader sweep and 10 in game two. The Mavericks have recorded 10 or more hits in six straight games from March 10-23.

Last season, the Mavericks had 10 or more hits in 15 games, going 9-6. This year, they are 8-3.

Over the last seven years of Division I play, UNO is a combined 104-45 when keying at least 10 hits.

Up Next
Omaha visits Creighton for the second of three meetings this season on Wednesday, May 9. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. at Werner Park, and links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.